Infant&#39;s garment



July 29, 1941. A M. COLE 2,250,750

INFANTS GARMENT Filed Nov. 9, 1940 Patented July 29, 1941 OFFICE nyFANTs GARMENT/ Alice M. cole, New York, N. y., assigner' f miehalf to'JohnA'. Dienner, Evanston, Ill;

Application November 9, 1940, Serial No. 364,978

1 Claim.

y Infants while sleeping or lying awake are active physically and when clothed in the customary manner are apt to expos-e themselves by dislodging their clothing. Many garments have been designedwhich are adapted to assure that the infant will be covered at all times, but as far as I am aware, garments known in the art unduly conne the infant in its movements and are bulky and uncomfortable. Other garments of the character noted are complex in design and impractical to put on or remove from the infant, particularly, where they comprise more than one piece which require considerable handling of the child each timeit is administered to and which further not only taxes the person attending the infant,

but also disturbs the child.

It is an object of my inventionto provide a garment of the hunting type of simple construction which may be easily and quicklyput on or removed from an infant.

y A further object is the provision of a garment of the` character noted which allows the infant sufficient freedom of movement, particularly of the lower limbs. y

In order to attain the above objects, I provide a' garment having a back portion and a pair of outer front naps formed integral therewith, or as a continuation thereof, the back portion having an extension which is adapted to be folded under the front flaps so that the infant is enclosed between the back portion and the extension. The extension is of sufcient length so that its free end may be disposed adjacent the upper end of the garment and thus substantially cover the legs, torso and chest of the infant. The free edge of the extension extends across the chest of the infant. The corners of the extension are releasably attached to the body of the garment in the region of the arm holes, preferably at the armpits, thus in effect forming a band about the body at this point. The combined effect of the armholes, the neck opening or collar portion, and this body band about the chest is somewhat like a harness. It cannot readily be displaced. The fit of the garment is conned to the region of the shoulders, i. e., that part of the body where the arms join the torso. Thus, minimum restriction to movement is caused. Suitable means are provided for securing the extension in the latter or closed position. A preferred structural feature is the dispositionof the extension` securing means so that when the` outer aps are closed and if desired suitably secured together, the means for securing the extension in position are not visible.

A further` preferred feature is to make the extension referred to integral with. or an extension of the back of the garment so that a unitary garment is provided. In the preferred form the number of seams is therefore a minimum.

. Other objects and incidental features and ad.

vantages of my invention will appear in the detail description.

Now, in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manner of constructing and utilizing my`invention, I shall describe in conjunction with the accompanying drawing specific embodiments of the invention. .Y

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational View looking at the front of a garment embodying my invention.. and in which a portion of one of the front flaps has been broken away; and

Figure 2 is an elevational viewlooking at a modified form of garment of my invention with a portion of one of the front flaps broken away.

VReferring vnow to Figure 1, there is shown a garment l which is intended for use as an outdoor .garment or as a sleeping garment for an infant and which preferably is nade of a warm fabric, suchas Canton wool.' The garment comprises a back or rear portion 2, a pair of front iiaps 3 3 integral therewith, and a pair of sleeves 4-'4;L The flaps 3-3 at their upper edges adjacent the free marginal edges ofthe naps and the upper central portion of the back are cut out to provide an opening for the neckof the infant. An extension 5 preferably formed integral with the ,back 2 of the garment is of a suitable length so that it may be folded, as shown in the drawing, with the corners B--G of its free end in position adjacent the sleeve openings in the garment. The

upper edgevmay lbe carried above the cornersV E-,B so as to li-e higher across the chestof the infant. 'I'he corners vl'fl of the extension preferably have loops 1,-1 secured thereto anda pair of tie ribbons 8-8 are secured inside the gar-l ment adjacent each sleeve opening preferably under the arm pits. The tie ribbons 8-8 are adapted to be passed through the loops 'l-T and tied together in a bow so that the extension is maintained in the position noted after which theVV flaps 3 3 may be folded over the extension and secured together by the tie ribbons 9 9 at the neck of the garment. Other preferred means of fastening these parts may be provided within the scope of the invention.

The garment is preferably made from a threepart pattern, i. e., the back 2, the rear portion of the sleeves 4 4, and the extension 5, andeach of the front flaps 3 including the front portion of the sleeves 4 4, are cut in single pieces from the material of which the garment is to be made. The front flaps 3 are then preferably positioned over the back 2 with the extension in the position shown in dotted lines and the upper ends of the front and back portions of the sleeves 4 4 seamed together, as indicated at Ill l. Also the iront and back portion of the lower ends of the sleeves and the outer marginal edges of the back portion 2 and front flaps 3 3 are seamed together, as indicated in the draw-V ing at Il ll and l2-I2, respectively. Obvi-r ously the garment could be made from a one-part pattern, but a three-part pattern, asdescribed, is preferable since there is less waste of material. The manner described of assembling the three pieces comprising the garmentk is onlyV illustrative since the steps of sewing or otherwise securing the parts together are notessential.

When the garment is to be put onan infant, the garment is laid open with the extension 5 in the position shown in dotted lines in the drawing. The arms of the infant are then placed in the sleeves 4 4 of the garment and the extension 5 folded and secured as described so that the torso and legs of the infant are disposed between the back portion 2 and the extension 5, after which the flaps 3 3 are brought over the extension and secured together, as described.

It will be obvious that the loop and tie means shown for detachably securing, the extension to the main body portion of thegarment is illustrative only, since any other suitable fastening means may be employed. The loops and strings are preferable from the standpoint of presenting no hard objects or hard lumps which might be uncomfortable.

It will be noted that in the preferred form ofY sleeping garment described the arms and head of the infant will be free and the remainder of the body covered but the movement thereof substantially unrestricted and it will be obvious that the corresponding lower parts of the garment may be readily made of sucient size to provide the desired freedom of movement for the covered portions of the body. Preferably, the

extension 5 is designed so that when it is in its folded position it does not extend below the bottom ends of the flaps 3 3 to provide a garment that is pleasing in appearance. It will further be noted that the flaps 3 3 conceal the means for securing the eXtenison in position and thus further enhance the appearance of the garment.

When it is desired to change a diaper, for example, it is only necessary to open the flaps 3 3 and untie the ribbons 8 8 and the change maybe made and the garment again closed without turning or lifting the infant.

In Figure 2, I have shown a modified form of means for detachably securing the extension 5 in its folded position. In this modification of my invention, I employ slide fasteners |4 l4 of a known type, which are adapted to detachably secure the opposite marginal edges I5 I5 of the extension 5 to adjacent inside portions of the garment. Also, in this modication, I have shown a slide fastener' I6 for securing the flaps 3 3 together. In all other respects the garment and the manner of putting it on an infant is the same as described in connection with Figure 1. In each case the garment is held in place by the harness effect of the band effect over the chest under the arms and the yoke effect of the arm' holes or sleeves.

The garment is held in place upon the body of the wearer primarily by the harness effect of the material around the arm holes, around the neck, and over the back and shoulders in cooperation with the band formed around the chest by the attachment of the corners of the extension to the back portion. There is thus no restrictive confinement of the lowerpart of the body although the same is effectively enclosed. The garment in its preferred form is composed structurally of only three main pieces. This is not essential. Whether parts are continuous or joined by seams is not essential. Connections may be releasable instead of permanent where convenience so'indicates. 'Ihe garment is to be considered from the viewpoint of its functional parts or elements and their cooperation, and thenit will be seen to what extent the` structure may be varied without departing from the invention.

Also the invention is not limited to the specic fastening means shown and described for clcsing the garment, since buttons, hooks, snap fasteners and other fastening devices may be employed.

It will be seen from the above description that the garment is simply laid out in open position and the infant positioned therein. Thereafter by simple manipulations the infant is securely covered without any further turning or lifting of the infant.

- I claim: Y

A garment of the class described comprising a rear portion and a front portion, said front portion being connected to the rear portion over the shoulders and under the arms, and definingv arrnholes and a neck opening, the rear portion comprising a full length back panel and the front portion comprising two substantially full length panels connected along the sides of the back panel and an extension of the back panel, said extension beingadapted to be folded Aup over the lower part of the body of the wearer and disposed under the front panels, the free end of the extension having corners which are releasably fastened to the body of the garment in the region of the arm holes to form a band across the chest of the wearer and to maintain the extension in position to enclose the lower part of the body of the wearer.

ALICE M. COLE. 

